Review: Turk Tresize, “Soul Casino”

“Gritty, rootsy, bluesy, and quite genuine, Australian guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Turk Tresize is as real as it gets.”

Artist: Turk Tresize

Album: Soul Casino

Genre: Roots Rock

RIYL: Alabama Shakes, Dan Auerbach, Tom Petty

Gritty, rootsy, bluesy, and quite genuine, Australian guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Turk Tresize is as real as it gets.

Tresize combines Roots Rock, Blues and slices of Country, Soul and Alt Rock into a melting pot of supremely quality material. The guitar playing is spot on and Tresize’s vocals are dynamite. The singing has a slightly gruff-but very honest and direct-sound that attracts attention immediately.

There are so many good songs on the Soul Casino album it’s obvious that Tresize has serious writing skills. “Direction” features sweet guitar fills during the verses (which also feature tasteful, simplistic strumming chords that work well) and allows Treszie to utilize his commanding voice.

“Karma Wisdom” has an excellent chorus and fantastic guitar work, while “Miles N’ Miles” echoes legends like Bonnie Raitt and Robbie Robertson. This is music that gets to the point and does so quickly. Each song is carried by the vocals, which are what compels the listener the most.

Yet, this album also has some great guitar playing exemplified best on tunes such as “Wasted”, “Rollin’ ” and opener “Daddy Wazza Roller”.

The finest moment on the album however, occurs with a gem called “Held A Rose”. “Held A Rose” is full of romantic imagery and a lovely mix of acoustic and electric slide guitars and those strong vocals once again. Lyrically this is the strongest on the record.

Other highlights include “Da Wheel” where Tresize even sounds a bit like legendary (and recently retired) Nazareth frontman Dan McCafferty, though nowhere near as raspy and throaty, and “West On Train” (featuring Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes) which concludes the album in fine fashion.

Soul Casino needs no further mixing, producing or arranging-this album is ready to be heard by more than a small amount of wizened music fans. Simply put, this is just a really good listen and should be on the charts now. So get to it people!